STRICT GEOMETRIC CALIBRATION OF AN UNDERWATER LASER TRIANGULATION SYSTEM

Abstract. This paper will describe a novel approach for the calibration of an underwater laser triangulation system. Underwater triangulation systems, consisting of a line laser and a camera can be used to determine the geometry of submerged objects or the topography of a water body bottom. Placing camera and laser line projector inside a waterproof housing leads to refraction effects at the air-glass-water interfaces, both of the laser light-sheet and image rays. This implies a deformed laser plane in the water and a curved line on the object surface. The proposed approach strictly models the geometry between camera, laser and housing. First experiments show, that the calibration method can be applied for water depth measurements with accuracies of 0.2–0.3 mm at depths in the order of 100 mm.